Technicalsymposium

About Technical Interview

When a technical presentation is part of your job interviewing process, you want to make sure your presentation is exciting, job-relevant and motivational. Depending on the position, your visual presentation might include graphics, charts, statistical information, flow charts, text or complex diagrams, requiring detailed explanations. As you present the information, you must make sure the interviewers stay interested in your content and can logically follow your line of reasoning. Otherwise, they might lose focus and mentally write you off as a job candidate. With modern advancements in technology, it's best to use computer software programs to create technical presentations.

Motivational Content

Before you dive into your technical content, it's best to introduce yourself and briefly explain why you're interested in the position. Then, start your presentation with an inspiring and motivational slide. Michael Ernst, an associate professor at the University of Washington, recommends defining the problem and explaining how you're going to address or solve that issue. You might want to select an image or a photograph that helps interviewers emotionally connect to your presentation. For example, if your technical presentation is about fundraising strategies as the director of development at a university, you might start with an image of a dejected college student, unable to pay tuition, or a graph of unemployment statistics in your state. Discuss how you plan to use fundraising programs to provide scholarship and need-based aid for college students and their families.

Past Accomplishments

Since the objective of a technical presentation is to convince the employer to choose you for the position, it's best to discuss your previous accomplishments in the industry. You can provide slides that define the scope of your previous work responsibilities and how you successfully completed job-relevant projects. Focusing on how your skills were beneficial to the project and how your technical skills made project completion possible can help you come across as a qualified, proactive, successful job applicant. For example, if you're applying for a position as a graphic artist for a publisher, you can present visual examples of your drawings, discuss computer software you used and explain how you created content for other publishers. Always remember to cite copyright information at the bottom of each slide if the work doesn't belong to you.

Organization

As you progress through the technical elements of your presentation, provide a brief outline at the beginning of each new topic, briefly explaining what you plan to cover in that section. According to Ernst, it's best to incorporate short, concise outlines into your presentation rather than starting your talk with one comprehensive outline. Outlines provide structure for your content, keep your ideas focused and help interviewers follow the logic of your presentation. Ernst also suggests using specific colors, fonts and arrows on your outlines to differentiate topic sections within your presentation.

Details

A technical presentation for a job interview often contains common elements, vital to almost any presentation. For example, Texas A&M University's tips for graduates states that technical presentations shouldn't contain busy, multicolored slides that are difficult to read. It's best not to fill a slide with lots of text; use bullets with a few key words instead. Wide margins and a font size larger than 17 points also make your slides easier to read. The site also recommends using animation to make your technical presentation more interactive. Specifically, if your technical elements include equations, formulas or graphs, you can present each equation one at a time, using animation to increase visual interest. Overwhelming interviewers with a bunch of equations all at once can reduce your chances of getting the job. They might lose interest in your material and disengage before you ever get to solutions or answers that could potentially benefit the company.

Source: Contents are provided by Technicalsymposium Google Group Members. Disclaimer: All the above contents are provided by technicalsymposium.com Google Group members. Further, this content is not intended to be used for commercial purpose. Technicalsymposium.com is not liable/responsible for any copyright issues.